Brightly Burning(84)
“We need to leave the bridge immediately,” Xiao said.
One look at Xiao’s expression, and I didn’t have to be told twice. I hugged Orion one last time, wishing him “Godspeed” before heading back to the elevators. Xiao held her tongue until one arrived, but then the gloves came off.
“How could you not have told me? You’ve taken an enormous risk coming here, Stella!”
“I had to come. Hugo had Sergei deliver a letter. He was saying goodbye.” I swallowed hard and balled my hands into fists, digging my nails into the palms to stop tears from welling up. Xiao shot me a look full of pity, her anger having receded.
As we stepped into Ward K’s hub, I was immediately accosted by a high-pitched squeal.
“Is that Stella Ainsley? It is!”
It was Bianca Ingram. Of course.
“Give me strength,” I heard Xiao mutter under her breath, reminding me why I liked her so much. Any tension between us dissipated as we united in annoyance against Bianca. She flitted toward us, hands full of parcels, in a dress as exquisite as ever—?blue with creamy chiffon accoutrements and needlessly impractical shoes, as always. Preity trailed behind her, barely suppressing a smile—?her, I was genuinely pleased to see, and I threw her a small wave. Bianca handed off her packages and pulled me into an awkward hug.
“Good to see you.” I put on my best smile, hoping to please her so that she wouldn’t say my true name again, or loudly.
“What brings you here? I saw you weren’t part of the Rochester party that moved here. I was told you went back to the Stalwart.”
“I’m just visiting. With my friend, Jon.”
Seeing only her beauty and knowing nothing of her personality, Jon enthusiastically offered his hand in introduction, along with his most flirtatious grin. To my surprise, Bianca did not sneer or look down her nose at him, despite his being from the Stalwart and being my friend clearly telegraphing his status. She blushed and gladly received his attentions.
“You must have dinner with us this evening, then. We can catch up. Xiao, you’re welcome as well, though we’ve just seen you the other night. The more, the merrier.”
Xiao politely declined, citing paperwork she needed to do, though I suspected her real entertainment for the evening would involve Sergei. I wasn’t so lucky. Bianca wouldn’t take no for an answer, and Jon was no help, enthusiastically receiving the invitation. I just had to keep up the charade for a couple of hours until Orion cracked Lori.
We reported to the Ingrams’ quarters at five p.m.
“See that you don’t get taken in,” I warned Jon as we stood before their door, my finger poised over the tab screen to ring the bell. “They can be very charming, showy, but I assure you, they are all snakes.”
Jon shrugged me off. “Bianca seems perfectly fine.”
“Don’t mistake beauty for goodness,” I said, then pressed the tab button, and we waited. Lizzy opened the door, greeting me enthusiastically, then led us to the dining room. I introduced Jon as the nephew of the Stalwart captain, hoping to elevate his status enough that he might be treated with some respect, and it certainly seemed to impress Captain Ingram, who monopolized him in conversation for the first quarter of dinner.
This left me to Bianca and Lucy, who grilled me on my movements since we’d last seen one another. Then, thankfully, I was able to deflect the spotlight over to them with one well-asked question about their migration to the Lady Liberty and their feelings about their new home, which set the whole party off, enthusiastically comparing their old life to their new. The Ingram children seemed to have adjusted better than their parents; Bianca and Lucy loved the amenities—?the endless parade of parties to attend, goods to procure—?while Braxton didn’t have to say a word for it to be clear that he enjoyed the unfettered access to both young women and booze. Justine was as sullen as ever, likely given the happiness of her husband. The captain disliked his lack of power on board, going on at length about how misguided it was for the Lady Liberty to discount his lifetime of experience. I bit my tongue, not pointing out to any of them how privileged they were to have been granted passage aboard this ship with no expectation that any of them would have to work.
Most pointedly, despite the reason for our acquaintance, no one mentioned the Rochester, or Hugo, or the monumental events that had happened on the fleet since we last saw one another. It was the elephant in the room. Once we’d eaten, I mentally prepared my excuses to leave. I didn’t want to get pulled into any poker games, or worse, a musical evening, courtesy of the Ingram sisters. Bianca caught me off-guard with other plans.
“Now, Jon, you must stay and play games with Lucy, Braxton, and Justine—?they love playing their settler game, but it bores me to tears. And Stella, I must steal you away for a walk.”
She’d grabbed me by the arm and whisked me out into the corridor before I could protest. We headed in the direction of the hub, Bianca’s arm linked in mine, uncomfortable given our height difference, but her grip was iron.
“Your friend Jon is lovely. Are you sweet on him?” she asked, drawing a snort of laughter from me.
“Definitely not,” I said. “Though for some reason, he’s, uh, sweet on me.”
We took a turn left before the hub, down a narrow corridor, forcing our arms apart so we could walk single file.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Why do you think it weird that he would like you?” Bianca’s voice drifted back to me. Maybe it was because I couldn’t see her face that I could dissociate from the fact that I was having a heart-to-heart with Bianca Ingram, but I gave her an honest reply.